For 70 minutes Manchester United’s strategy of killing Cristiano Ronaldo with
kindness, as Patrice Evra put it beforehand, seemed to be working. The
Portugal forward performed like a shadow of the man whose staggering
contribution throughout five years at Old Trafford brought the entire crowd
to their feet moments before kick-off, yet even when well below par he was
still able to inflict the nightmare scenario on the Theatre of Dreams.

Ronaldo’s mind seemed elsewhere throughout, but his body was in the right
place at the right time when it mattered most. The 28-year-old ghosted away
from Rafael Da Silva